Wayne D. King
A new age has dawned . . .
First there was the Agricultural Revolution; then came the Industrial Revolution; then, the Information and Technology Revolution; now we are about to enter what I believe historians will recognize as a Fourth Wave of civilization . . . call it the Green Revolution. If we are wise and fortunate, succeeding generations will define this as the time in which sanity and environmental awareness was brought to all of the gains of preceding eras.
The skeptics will suggest that this is nothing more than the peace, love and waterbeds crowd trying to reprise the Agricultural Revolution.
But the skeptics are wrong. Green has come to the mainstream.
Something revolutionary is happening here and it’s about moving forward not backward. It’s about comfort, not discomfort; it’s about doing better with what we have not “doing without”; and, its about sharing this unique and wonderful place we call Earth.
A Revolution
The Green Revolution has all of the historic and social characteristics of previous revolutions – though its transformational possibilities also point to an interwoven conceptual framework quite different from previous revolutions.
Similarities with Past Revolutions
In each of the preceding historic waves a period of gradual change preceded the revolutionary changes that heralded the new era. Each began with changes that seemed outside of the mainstream of logic and what was considered to be “common sense”. Business tycoons around the country scoffed at the revolutionary ideas of Henry Ford regarding workers rights and production - and he ate their figurative lunch; While Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were busy setting the table for the information revolution, Digital’s Ken Olsen was trying to cut the legs off it by ridiculing the notion that the personal computer would play a pivotal role in anyone’s home – Olsen, too, became grist for the mill ; US Senator James Inhofe, who characterized the concerns of scientists and advocates over global warming as the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people," is well on his way to joining this hall of shame in the current era. Like Olsen, he’s doing his share of backfilling trying to lessen the historical impact of his remarks, but the damage has been done.
Stephen Hawking, in his extraordinary Science in the New Millennium speech, said“. . . common sense is just another name for the prejudices that we have been brought up with.”. Each new revolution has faced its own set of nay-sayers and troglodytes, yet, gradually the prejudices of the day yield to the power of an idea . . . and of course a new set of temporal notions developed, ready to be overthrown by the next revolution.
Likewise each revolution drove dramatic economic activity. It is commonly accepted that civilization, as we know it, grew out of the simple act of planting crops in the rich flatlands of the Fertile Crescent along the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates basins. Subsistence farming turned the previous life-model of those Neolithic people on its head, eventually leading to trading economies created by surplus production. The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution brought about the shift from a nomadic existence to a structured society with economic systems, domesticated plants and animals and many of today’s hallmarks of civilization.
As for the Industrial Revolution and the Information Revolution – besides the vast cultural and social changes, nearly every child graduating from a school anywhere in the world knows about the economic changes and growth that accompanied these revolutions. The Green Revolution will be no different. If you are an entrepreneur and you’re ahead of the curve, you are in the “sweet spot”.
What’s different? Dominion versus Stewardship
If there is one difference between this revolution and others – and that remains to be seen - it will be manifest in our relationship with the earth and its other living inhabitants. Previous revolutions revolved around the biblical notion that “man” was given dominion over the earth and all its creatures. The Green Revolution, recognizing humanity’s cerebral advantages and concomitant responsibilities, is focused on humanity’s place within the tapestry of all life. This is not a rejection of the religious admonitions, but rather a reading that recognizes stewardship as a more appropriate interpretation of the biblical context. In this way, the Green Revolution is deeply spiritual and consistent with the fundamental tenants of all religious philosophies. It is a unifying vision – something that we have far to few of these days.
The Possibilities
What is most exciting about this Fourth Wave, are its possibilities for humanity. Far from rejecting previous revolutions and the advance of civilization and the human spirit it embraces the very best of these revolutions while challenging us to tread more lightly. In so many ways it takes the respectful view of the earth – manifest most clearly in Native American peoples connection to the earth - and blends it with the best of each succeeding wave of change. An optimists view . . . my view . . . is that humanity is entering a Fourth Wave of civilization where a conscientious consumerism brings all the previous revolutions into balance with the planet. Let the Revolution Begin!
About the Author:
Wayne King is a former NH Senator and 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor and lives in Rumney, NH where he flies both the American and Iroquois flags proudly.
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